Frequently Asked Questions.

CallFirst sits between you and the social apps you've chosen to block. When you tap on one, CallFirst takes over the screen. The only way through is a 60-second or longer phone call. After the call, your apps unlock for the rest of the day.

On Android, the major social apps including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X (Twitter), Threads, Facebook and Snapchat. You decide which subset to lock. On iPhone you can choose whichever you want.

No. CallFirst is built for connection, not productivity. It won't block Slack, Notion or your email. If you want a deep-work or focus blocker, a dedicated productivity app is the better choice — CallFirst is a friction layer for personal connection, not a focus tool.

During onboarding, and subsequently from home or settings, you choose a contact from your phone book. You can change your CallFirst person any time.

No. CallFirst supports both regular phone calls and WhatsApp calls.

Then your apps stay blocked. CallFirst measures how long you're away from the app after you tap to call — sixty seconds or more and you're asked to confirm you called. If your person doesn't pick up, call someone else on your list or leave the apps blocked for the day. There's no timer to wait out.

Yes, on CallFirst Pro. You can also create named groups — Family, Parents, Close Friends — and a call to any one member unlocks. On the Free tier, one contact.

No. Each day you choose is its own block. A call on Monday unlocks your apps for Monday — the block comes back on the next day you've chosen, and you'll need another call to clear it. A weekly schedule on Mon/Tue/Wed means "prompt me on each of those days," not "once this week."

Almost nothing about you, and nothing about the person you're calling. The contact you picked — their name and number — stays on your device; we never sync it to our servers. When you tap to call, we measure your time away from the app locally; sixty seconds or more, your apps unlock. We log the attempt to your account anonymously: the time, whether you used WhatsApp or your phone, and how long you were away. No contact identifier on those logs — we genuinely don't know which of your contacts you called. We don't read your phone's call log. We don't access audio. We don't read your address book beyond the one contact you picked.

On iOS: Screen Time (Family Controls) access, so the app can block the apps you choose. On Android: Usage Access, so the app can tell which app is in the foreground, plus permission to display over other apps so the block screen can appear. CallFirst requests no telephony permissions at all — no phone state, no call log, no call recording. A call is verified by timing how long you are away from CallFirst, not by inspecting your phone. We also do not request location, microphone, photos, or contacts beyond the one contact you pick.

No. We don't sell your data. We don't share it with advertisers. The website carries measurement tags (Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager, and a Meta pixel on the beta pages). The app carries product analytics (PostHog) and crash diagnostics (Sentry), so we can see which features people use and what breaks. The app also asks the occasional short question — answering is always optional, and those answers go to PostHog with the rest of the product analytics. Neither ever receives the name or number of the person you call — that stays on your device. The privacy policy has the formal version.

Yes, indefinitely, on the Free tier — one contact, one daily unlock, all nine blockable apps. Paid tiers add multiple contacts, custom schedules and streak tracking. Full details on the What is CallFirst page.

Prices vary by region and currency. For the most up-to-date pricing in your country, check the App Store or Play Store listing, or open the app.

Yes. Annual subscriptions cancel any time in your app-store subscription panel; you keep access until the period ends. The one-time purchase is non-recurring by definition — pay once, yours indefinitely, nothing to cancel.

CallFirst is built by AI PM Services LTD, a UK-registered technology company. The About page has further information.